sick benefit

3.2

Money the government pays to someone who cannot work because they are ill

noun
/sɪk ˈbɛnɪfɪt/

: prestación por enfermedad

Many people rely on sick benefits to support themselves while they recover from serious health issues.

Examples

It found no significant variation across GP practices in the UK in the rate of patients claiming long-term sick benefits.

Academic text (2010)
"In practice, however, the Clothiers' Community underlined local autonomy by devolving considerable powers to workshops in matters such as the distribution of sick benefits and the resolution of disputes over apprenticeship.

Academic text (1993)
If you are unable to work due to illness, you can apply for sick benefits from the government.
To qualify for sick benefits, you must provide proof of your illness to the relevant authorities.

Synonyms

sickness benefit

vssick benefit

1 3.5

Money the government gives to people who cannot work because they are ill

has identical meaning but uses a different grammatical form

How Much

sick pay

1 2.3

sick benefit

3.2

Surface Forms

sick benefit singular

sick benefits plural

Morphology

sick + benefit

The meaning 'money paid to someone who is unable to work due to illness' is directly and transparently derived from combining 'sick' (ill) with 'benefit' (a payment/support). The adjective+noun composition is a common, cross-linguistic pattern for naming social payments, so a B1 learner who knows both words would readily infer the phrase's meaning.

Etymology

The noun sick benefit comes from old systems where someone who was sick was given a benefit, 'a small payment', to live on while they could not work. So today sick benefit means 'money paid when someone is unable to work because of illness'.